Aqua Tower Gets Proggy from PETA for Being Bird Friendly

PETA isn't just worried about fur; they care about birds, too, and just gave a PETA "Proggy" award to Studio Gang for the bird-friendly features on its Aqua Tower.Edward Lifson at Hello Beautiful

PETA says:

Studio Gang Architects has earned a PETA Proggy award for using bird-deflecting elements in the Aqua Tower residential building and hotel. By including an undulating exterior and specifying the use of fritted glass--which is etched with gray marks to make it easier for birds to see--the company has created a design that will help prevent birds from flying into windows. PETA's Proggy Awards ("Proggy" is for "progress") recognize animal-friendly achievements in commerce and culture.

Gang's sensitivity to birds comes as no surprise. One of her most acclaimed designs, still unbuilt, is for the Ford Calumet Environmental Center . The project, to be located in an industrial area on Chicago's Far South Side, is to be constructed of recycled materials, like the twigs of a bird's nest.

I still have problems with the way the undulating balconies are going to be an energy leak of monstrous proportions, radiator fins that heat Chicago all winter (I think I would see in the picture if they used European style thermal breaks), but I do like the idea that an architect would actually care about being bird-friendly. Congratulations to Studio Gang, and to PETA for doing something absolutely straightforward that does not involve naked women.